Travel Guides & Articles
Trump reinstates US travel ban, bars citizens of 12 countries

By Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON -U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning the citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States, saying the move was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.
The directive is part of an immigration crackdown Trump launched this year at the start of his second term, which has included the deportation to El Salvador of hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members, as well as efforts to deny enrollments of some foreign students and deport others.
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will be partially restricted.
“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Trump said in a video posted on X. He said the list could be revised and new countries could be added.
The proclamation is effective on June 9, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. EDT . Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said.
The African Union’s Commission expressed concern on Thursday about the potential negative impact of the new travel ban on educational exchanges, commercial engagement and broader diplomatic relations.
In retaliation, Chad’s President Idriss Deby instructed his government to stop issuing visas to U.S. citizens. Congo Republic’s government spokesperson Thierry Moungalla said his country’s inclusion was a “misunderstanding.”
“Congo is neither a terrorist state, nor does it harbor any terrorists, or known for having any terrorist tendencies,” Moungalla told journalists.
During his first, 2017-21 term in office, Trump announced a ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who succeeded Trump, repealed that ban on nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen in 2021, calling it “a stain on our national conscience”.
Trump said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” fail to cooperate on visa security, have an inability to verify travelers’ identities, inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States.
“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States,” Trump said.
He cited Sunday’s incident in Boulder, Colorado in which a man tossed a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new curbs are needed.
An Egyptian national, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, has been charged in the attack. Federal officials said Soliman had overstayed his tourist visa and had an expired work permit – although Egypt is not on the list of countries facing travel limits.
BEING IN THE U.S. A ‘BIG RISK’
Somalia immediately pledged to work with the U.S. to address security issues.
“Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised,” Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the United States, said in a statement.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, responded on Wednesday evening by describing the U.S. government as fascist and warning Venezuelans against being in the United States.
“The truth is being in the United States is a big risk for anybody, not just for Venezuelans … They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.”
A spokesperson for the Taliban-led Afghan foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on how it would handle the thousands of Afghans waiting in Islamabad who had been in the pipeline for U.S. resettlement.
Calls early on Thursday to the spokesperson for Myanmar’s military government were not answered.
The travel ban threatens to upend a 31-year-old Myanmar teacher’s plan to join a U.S. State Department exchange program, which was slated to start in September.
“It is not easy to apply nor get accepted as we needed several recommendation letters,” said the teacher, who currently lives in Thailand and asked not to be named because her visa application is still outstanding.
“In my case, I would get to work at universities that provide digital education,” she said, adding that she had not been updated by the program after Trump’s announcement.
Trump’s presidential campaign focused on a tough border strategy and he previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “anywhere else that threatens our security.”
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Travel Guides & Articles
Ebix Travel unveils e-Visa platform

Ebix Travel, operating through Via.com (online) and Mercury Travels (offline), has launched its comprehensive Via e-Visa platform, designed to revolutionise the traditionally complex visa application process for travel partners and corporate clients across India.
The new platform at Via.com addresses critical pain points in the B2B travel industry by offering a centralised visa solution that eliminates physical paperwork and enables travel partners to manage visa applications from anywhere to deliver faster & more reliable services to their customers.
The Via e-Visa platform equips travel partners, and corporate clients with a streamlined solution to manage visa applications. By simplifying documentation, removing intermediaries, and enabling direct submissions to embassies and consulates, the platform not only reduces costs but also enhances speed, transparency, and customer trust—giving partners a stronger competitive edge.
The Via e-Visa platform covers visa applications for over 40 destinations spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, and beyond, including key markets such as Australia, Japan, the UAE, Russia, Kenya, Malaysia, Morocco, and Thailand. This extensive coverage has been carefully curated to meet the immediate needs of Indian travellers, with plans already underway to expand to more destinations based on market demand and evolving travel patterns.
Commenting on the launch, Ankur Sharmaa, Chief Business Officer, Via.com (Ebix Travel) said, The introduction of the Via e-Visa platform is a milestone moment for Ebix Travel and for the travel industry in India. By combining technology with our deep-rooted partner network, we are creating a scalable, transparent, and highly reliable solution that directly addresses one of the biggest pain points in international travel. This innovation is central to our vision of empowering our travel partners and corporate clients while making global mobility more accessible and efficient for millions of Indians.”
Travel Guides & Articles
Caravan 2025 Expands with AI-Powered Tri-City Showcase

From Flyr’s launch to curated networking, TravClan’s boutique platform redefines the future of travel trade across Kolkata, Chennai, and Bengaluru.
Caravan 2025, the flagship B2B initiative by TravClan, has further solidified its position as India’s leading travel trade platform with a successful tri-city run across Kolkata, Chennai, and Bengaluru this September. Following its inaugural edition earlier in April, Caravan’s return in the second half of the year drew over 600 travel agents and 25+ top brands, signaling strong momentum for curated, tech-forward B2B engagement in the Indian travel ecosystem.
Held on 8th, 10th, and 12th September respectively, the three-city tour embraced the theme “Travel Meets the Future: Powered by AI, Driven by You,” anchoring discussions and product showcases around the role of technology in reshaping the way agents sell travel. A standout announcement during the event was the launch of Flyr, TravClan’s AI-driven tool that allows agents to instantly generate professional-grade marketing creatives, complete with itineraries and pricing. The solution is designed to bridge a major operational gap for small and mid-sized agents enabling faster client turnaround and better branding without heavy design support.
In addition to Flyr, Caravan spotlighted enhancements in AI-driven instant quoting tools and automation-led efficiency upgrades across TravClan’s platform positioning itself not just as a networking event, but a product-led innovation hub.
The boutique format of the event allowed brands to engage in deeper, one-on-one conversations with agents, collect live feedback, and introduce experiential segments such as wellness tourism and digital detox packages. For agents, particularly from non-metro and Tier 2 regions, Caravan offered critical access to trending global destinations like Dubai, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Bali, along with the confidence and content needed to convert those opportunities into bookings.
Chirag Agrawal, Co-founder of TravClan, noted, “Caravan is not about footfall; it’s about impact. Every session, every connection is intentional aimed at making the travel trade smarter, faster, and future-proof.”
With its latest edition marking its second successful outing in 2025, Caravan is poised to enter more regional markets over the coming months, reinforcing its role as the country’s most scalable and agile B2B travel ecosystem.
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Travel Guides & Articles
Thales signs maintenance contract with IndiGo

Thales and IndiGo, India’s largest airline, have signed a strategic maintenance contract for the airline’s current fleet of 430 Airbus A320 aircraft and future order of over 800 A32X aircraft.
As part of this 11-year contract, Thales will provide IndiGo with expert repair services for avionics components, coupled with Thales’s ‘Avionics-By-The-Hour’ (ABTH) programme – a comprehensive spares management solution that ensures the availability of critical components to minimise aircraft downtime. This, together with Thales’s ‘Repair-By-The-Hour’ (RBTH), guarantees timely maintenance for avionics, allowing IndiGo to increase the availability of its fleet and expedite repairs.
Repairs will be managed notably at Thales’s new state-of-the-art avionics MRO facility in Gurugram, India, located near the Delhi airport, which is designed to handle the increasing demand for avionics support, featuring advanced technology to streamline repair processes and ensure high levels of fleet availability. Thales’s skilled technicians specialise in maintaining complex avionics systems with repairs that meet stringent safety and regulatory standards.
IndiGo has also extended a 5-year contract with AvioBook, a Thales company, for AvioBook Flight —the only Electronic Flight Bag solution currently authorised for paperless operations by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). In use across the entire IndiGo fleet for over a year, AvioBook Flight has already helped significantly reduce consumption of paper usage annually thereby advancing environmental sustainability goals and streamlining flight operations on over 2,000 flights every day.
“We are pleased to partner with Thales, a leading aerospace company trusted worldwide for its expertise in avionics support, to augment IndiGo’s maintenance and repairs capabilities. With IndiGo’s growing scale and fleet, this association aligns with our commitment to offer a hassle-free and safe flying experience to our customers, while ensuring operational excellence and reliability,” Parichay Datta, Senior Vice-President, Engineering, IndiGo.
“This strategic partnership with IndiGo underscores our commitment to delivering airline world-class avionics support and services. Our new MRO facility in India increases Thales’s ability to provide a swift, reliable service, backed by the power of our global organisation, to meet the evolving demands of the Indian aviation industry,” added Thomas Got, Vice President, Aviation Global Services, Thales.
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